Tag: Carlos Vera

UFC 298 medical suspensions: Henry Cejudo among 9 fighters suspended 180 days

Nine UFC 298 competitors are out a potential 180 days due to injuries sustained in their fights Saturday in Anaheim, Calif.

Saturday’s UFC pay-per-view event in Anaheim, Calif. was not a good night to be a limb.

UFC 298 took place at Anaheim, Calif. and featured 12 bouts and 24 fighters. Nine of those fighters were handed six-month suspensions as a result of injuries sustained in their bouts. Eight of those potential injuries were deemed possible fractures.

Monday, California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster, who oversaw the event, provided MMA Junkie with a full list of medical suspensions.

Scroll below to see how much time UFC 298 competitors will have to take off as a result of their bouts Saturday. It’s important to note fighters may return before the conclusion of their suspensions if they are cleared by a physician (unless denoted “no exception” or “mandatory”).

UFC 298 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Alexander Volkanovski’s $42,000 tops card

Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 298 took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $252,000.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC 298 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $243,000.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC 298 took place at Honda Center. The main card aired on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The full UFC 298 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag]: $32,000
def. [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]: $42,000

[autotag]Robert Whittaker[/autotag]: $21,000
def. [autotag]Paulo Costa[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Geoff Neal[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Merab Dvalishvili[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Henry Cejudo[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Anthony Hernandez[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roman Kopylov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Amanda Lemos[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Mackenzie Dern[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Marcos Rogerio de Lima[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Junior Tafa[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Zhang Mingyang[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Brendson Ribeiro[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Danny Barlow[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Josh Quinlan[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Oban Elliott[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Val Woodburn[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Miranda Maverick[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Andrea Lee[/autotag]: $11,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2011 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $1,093,000
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,800,000

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

Rinya Nakamura def. Carlos Vera at UFC 298: Best photos

Check out the best photos from Rinya Nakamura’s unanimous decision win over Carlos Vera at UFC 298.

Check out the best photos from [autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag]’s unanimous decision win over [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag] at UFC 298 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. (Fight and venue photos by Gary A. Vasquez, USA Today Sports)

Fresh Ink: Meet the 3 fighters the UFC signed in January 2024

Find out who joined the UFC in January and learn more about them here.

The UFC roster is bigger than ever – and it continues to expand.

Fresh faces appear on nearly every card, whether onboarded as short-notice opening fillers, “Dana White’s Contender Series” signees, or rare straight-up additions. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of the hustle and bustle of the mixed martial arts news beat, but here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got you covered.

“Fresh Ink” is your list of fighters added to the UFC roster the previous month and provides background on who they are and where they came from.

Check out the January 2024 list below.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Jan. 15-21)

Check out the UFC, PFL, and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 15-21.

Rinya Nakamura gets new UFC 298 opponent: TUF 31 alum Carlos Vera

Carlos Vera, a member of Conor McGregor’s team on “TUF 31”, will face Rinya Nakamura at UFC 298.

[autotag]Rinya Nakamura[/autotag] has a new opponent for UFC 298.

With Brady Hiestand out due to injury, Nakamura (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC)) now faces “The Ultimate Fighter 31” cast member and UFC newcomer [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag] (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at the Feb. 17 event at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.

Two people with knowledge of the matchup recently informed MMA Junkie of the booking but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Nakamura, 28, is the son of early combat sports orchestrator Kozo Nakamura. The COVID-19 pandemic limited his wrestling opportunities, so Nakamura turned to mixed martial arts and debuted in 2021. He won the Road to UFC tournament in 2022 with three knockouts in as many tournament outings. In August, he defeated Fernie Garcia by unanimous decision.

Vera, 36, was briefly rostered by the UFC in late 2022 when he raised his hand for a short notice opportunity Dec. 9 vs. Daniel Marcos. When Marcos was forced off the card due to travel issues, Vera was removed as well.

Prior to his UFC signing, Vera competed on “TUF 31” as part of Team McGregor. Vera was eliminated in the opening round when he lost a unanimous decision to eventual bantamweight season winner Brad Katona. The loss was an exhibition bout. Vera enters his UFC debut on a four-fight winning streak in professional competition.

With the addition, the UFC 298 lineup includes:

  • Alexander Volkanovski vs. Ilia Topuria
  • Henry Cejudo vs. Merab Dvalishvili
  • Paulo Costa vs. Robert Whittaker
  • Ian Garry vs. Geoff Neal
  • Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Lemos
  • Ikram Aliskerov vs. Anthony Hernandez
  • Andrea Lee vs. Miranda Maverick
  • Marcos Rogerio vs. Justin Tafa
  • Rinya Nakamura vs. Carlos Vera
  • Zhang Mingyang vs. Brendson Ribeiro
  • Oban Elliott vs. Val Woodburn
  • Danny Barlow vs. Yusaku Kinoshita
  • AJ Dobson vs. Tresean Gore

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 298.

UFC Fight Night 233 loses Daniel Marcos vs. Carlos Vera

Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 233 even in Las Vegas has taken a hit as Daniel Marcos vs. Carlos Vera is off.

UFC Fight Night 233 is down a fight.

The bantamweight bout between [autotag]Daniel Marcos[/autotag] and [autotag]Carlos Vera[/autotag] has been scrapped from Saturday’s event in Las Vegas.

Visa issues for Marcos (15-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) are to blame for the cancellation. No replacement will be sought for Vera (11-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who took his UFC debut assignment on a few days’ notice.

Two people with knowledge of the cancellation recently informed MMA Junkie of it but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Marcos, 30, has hit a streak of bad luck after an impressive start to his UFC tenure. Following back-to-back wins over Saimon Oliveira and Davey Grant, Marcos has encountered three straight cancellations including one on weigh-in day when opponent Victor Hugo missed weight.

Vera, 36, has competed in MMA for over a decade with the dream of one day getting to the UFC. A member of “The Ultimate Fighter 31,” Vera was part of Team McGregor. He was eliminated by eventual season winner Brad Katona. Vera’s manager Brian Butler, of Sucker Punch Entertainment, posted a video of him breaking the news of his signing.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0ZPGkaLJ4X/?img_index=1

With the change, the UFC Fight Night 233 lineup now includes:

MAIN CARD (ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET)

  • Song Yadong vs. Chris Gutierrez
  • Khalil Rountree vs. Anthony Smith
  • Tim Elliott vs. Su Mudaerji
  • Nasrat Haqparast vs. Jamie Mullarkey
  • Andre Muniz vs. Junyong Park
  • Kevin Jousset vs. Song Kenan

PRELIMINARY CARD (ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET)

  • HyunSung Park vs. Shannon Ross
  • Melquizael Costa vs. Steve Garcia
  • Stephanie Egger vs. Luana Santos
  • Carlos Hernandez vs. Tatsuro Taira
  • Talita Alencar vs. Rayanne Amanda

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 233.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Nov. 27-Dec 3.)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Nov. 27-Dec. 3.

‘The Ultimate Fighter 31: McGregor vs. Chandler,’ Episode 12 recap: ‘That f*cking slip just cost me that fight’

“The Ultimate Fighter 31” returns as the final in-house bout ends in a fashion that has one fighter kicking himself.

“The Ultimate Fighter 31: Team McGregor vs. Team Chandler” returned Tuesday for Episode 12 as the final fight of the season transpires.

On Episode 12, Team McGregor’s [autotag]Rico DiSciullo[/autotag] fights Team Chandler’s Cody Gibson to see who will be the final fighter to fill a slot in the finals and face [autotag]Brad Katona[/autotag]. Also, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler competed against one another – in the coaches’ challenge: an ice plunge trivia game – with thousands of dollars on the line.

The season concluded Tuesday with the live finale set for Saturday at UFC 292. The promotion also intends for coaches McGregor and Chandler to square off in the months that follow the conclusion of the season.

Scroll below for a recap of Episode 12 and make sure to check out an exclusive insider look from [autotag]Kurt Holobaugh[/autotag], who will peel back the curtain on MMA Junkie the morning after each episode airs.

Kurt Holobaugh’s ‘TUF 31’ chronicles: Why one teammate was disliked by the others

Cast member Kurt Holobaugh gives MMA Junkie an exclusive, inside look at “The Ultimate Fighter 31: Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler.”

“The Ultimate Fighter 31” is underway with coaches [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] and [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] attracting more eyeballs back on the series.

This season, which features eight lightweights and eight bantamweights, debuted Tuesday on ESPN. McGregor’s team features eight fighters who have not competed in the UFC against Chandler’s team of eight UFC alumni.

Among those UFC alumni is [autotag]Kurt Holobaugh[/autotag], the lone fighter who had two previous stints with the promotion. Holobaugh went 0-4 over those stretches, but history shows a tough strength of schedule: Steven Siler, Raoni Barcelos, Shane Burgos, and Thiago Moises.

Now at lightweight rather than featherweight, Holobaugh devastated two opponents to get a third look from the UFC.

Each week here at MMA Junkie, Holobaugh will peel back the curtain and provide an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look and give insight into what may not have made the cut into the episode.

Check out what Holobaugh had to say about Episode 5 below.